I was able to finish off testing out the Royal Albartross Strider Monochrome Hybrid golf shoes on the recent HOG World Tour visit to Bandon Dunes Golf Resort a couple of weeks ago. The varying weather was perfect for evaluating the shoe performance in a multitude of conditions, from sunny and warm to cold hard rain flying sideways. The results are in. The envelope please…
Strider Monochrome Overview
The Strider Monochrome from Royal Albartross is a hybrid shoe, one that can cross over between golf and street. It’s half golf shoe, half sneaker. Half shoe, half amazing. I may wear it more on the street than the course.
The uppers of the shoe are made from Italian leather, suede, and antibacterial treated canvas. Canvas? It’s like a piece of art, so that’s fitting.
To make walking more enjoyable and less wear and tear on the body, the shoe features an air cushion sole. The sole is enhanced with treads which provide traction no matter what direction. And when you have a spastic swing like mine, there are many directions.
For added comfort, the lining of the shoe is made from soft calf leather.
Style
Royal Albartross is perhaps the most stylish and upper class golf shoe maker on the planet. As one who knows Albartross would expect, the style is classy and unique. I’ve been very much into gray color-ways lately and I really like the black and multiple gray colors. The rainbow color accents are bold and at the same time minimal and not over the top.
The shoe’s unique shape separates it even more from the same old same old cookie cutter designs from other more mainstream golf shoe makers.
Sizes
The Strider comes in sizes 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13. There are no half sizes.
Color Variations
There are two color variations of the Strider, the Miami and the Storm. These versions offer different color combinations.
On The Course
I’ve been very happy with the performance of the Strider. Even in some extremely wet, muddy and nasty conditions at Bandon Dunes I never slipped. The shoes did a great job keeping the moisture away from my feet. I walked close to 20 miles in them over the course of the trip and the shoes remained comfortable and low impact.
I’ve also been wearing the shoes at work and out on the town with great success. The neutral color scheme matches well with almost any of my apparel scripting configurations.
Final Thoughts
The Strider Monochrome ($265) is a super stylish hybrid shoe that is as good off the course as it is on. I have total stability and confidence in the golf swing, even in very wet and slippery conditions. They provide plenty of traction for walking up and down on hilly terrain. In addition to the performance, the shoe out-styles every other brand out there.
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